1.06.2006

A Must Hear

Nolita by Keren Ann

I first stumbled on Keren Ann while shopping for CDs at FNAC in Nantes. Since then she has moved across the lake to New York and now her American release is available in stores like Borders. Fortunate for us! Why I didn't pick the CD up sooner I don't know, since I'm a huge fan of La Disparation, her earlier album.

This girl has something to say and her style in saying it has much improved and matured - really fascinating work. While La Disparation is the intersection of French folk ballad and techno/discotheque, Nolita has adapted to the new US environment. The new music has cooled down quite a lot and has taken on an American twist - like the harmonica and more mellow instrumentation and rhythms. Also new and different is the narrator with Keren's accompaniment in "Song of Alice." Elements of her former self can still be heard in the French tracks, but the American influence is evident - like the Miles-ish trumpeting in "L'Onde Amère."

This album is one of the most creative things I've encountered.

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